It happens. You see a blogger get a book deal, their blog turned into a bestseller. You’re convinced you can do the same, and you either up your game with an existing blog or delve into the blogosphere for the first time, your eyes full of pie-in-the-sky dreams. Wake up, buttercup. It ain’t gonna happen. For every success story, there are a million unknown blogs.
Does that mean you can’t be successful? Does that mean you can’t make money running your own blog? Absolutely not, on both counts. Needless to say, there are all sorts of classes, seminars, books, webinars, and step-by-step guides from “experts” and millionaire bloggers who are more than happy to take your money while telling you how to make more of it, but those aren’t necessary either. Here’s the only thing you need to remember: you simply cannot go into a business like blogging thinking that you’re going to be rich within the year.
Go in with realistic expectations and a game plan firmly in mind, however, and you have a better shot. Even if you don’t hit billionaire status, you absolutely can make enough to support yourself. You may even make enough to quit your full-time job. It’s just not easy. Your first month – maybe even your first six months – you may not make a lot of money, but that’s how this business goes. The dedicated writers who create messages that people actually want to read – they’re the successful bloggers, not the get-rich-quick schemers.